On the heels of a sun-splashed weekend, winter is returning to the Bay Area on Tuesday with a quick and cold punch.

Just days after the Bay Area enjoyed a high of 71 degrees, a cold-weather system from Alaska is expected to deliver a burst of frigid air and rain to the Bay Area. Temperatures will top out in the low 50s, with showers expected in time for this morning's commute, according to the National Weather Service.

"It's a pretty cold system," said Austin Cross, a forecaster with the weather service. "We could see a dusting of snowflakes on the higher peaks, and it will be markedly colder than this past weekend."

Most of the rain is expected to fall between late this morning and tonight, according to the weather service. Some areas may receive as much as a half-inch of the wet stuff.

Snow levels are expected to drop as low as 2,000 feet.

There is also a chance of thunderstorms and hail, according to the weather service.

The weekend sunshine was replaced Monday by gray and gloomy skies.

The forecast is a far cry from the unseasonably warm and sunny conditions the Bay Area has been enjoying.

There should see a break from the winter flash on Wednesday, with mostly sunny skies . There is a slight chance of rain on Thursday and Friday, with partly sunny skies.

This week's rain is not expected to bring the Bay Area back to its normal totals for this time of year. After a drenching start to the rain season driven by heavy December showers, there has been very little rain and snow in Northern California.

Since Jan. 1, San Jose has recorded just

.80 inches of rain. Oakland has registered

.53 inches since Jan. 1, and San Francisco has recorded .45 inches. The gauge at Moffett Field has recorded .38 inches and Watsonville airport registered .78.

"It's hard to say if this will really bring us back into more winterlike pattern," Cross said. "There are a couple systems that come through. But because they're coming out of the north, they are pretty light on the rain amounts.

"We're probably not going to catch up with where we should be for the year."